The new railway station at Meridian Water will open in 2019 despite the termination of discussions with Barratt on the £6bn project.
Enfield Council can confirm that, if Barratt would not confirm its commitment to a number of key elements of its own bid by Wednesday 25 October at the very latest, then a recommendation was to be presented to a Cabinet meeting on Monday 30 October that its position as preferred Development Partner for Meridian Water be terminated.
“Ahead of this, Barratt has taken the decision to formally withdraw.
“Meridian Water remains one of the most exciting development opportunities anywhere in London but we were simply not prepared to sign up to what we considered to be a poor deal for the residents and businesses of Enfield.
“Enfield Council therefore informed Barratt that their proposed terms were unacceptable which has now led to discussions with them ending.
“We are immensely proud of the progress we have made at Meridian Water over the last 18 months as Enfield Council has taken direct control to ensure successful delivery.
“We already own two thirds of the developable site. We have Housing Zone funding secured from the GLA. We have achieved a planning consent for the first 725 homes at Willoughby Lane and are managing the construction enabling works on-site. We have developed our ‘Meridian Works’ proposition with Europe’s largest open workshop for makers, creators and artists opening in 2018. And we have secured the delivery of a new rail station at Meridian Water which will open in 2019.
“With these fundamentals already in place we will now consider our next steps to secure at Meridian Water the delivery of high quality new homes, world-class public spaces and major new job opportunities for the people of Enfield and beyond.”